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Black Goo / Chemical_A0-3959X.91 – 15
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A chemical weapon, in the form of a sticky black liquid, created by the Engineers.
An incredibly potent substance, the Black Goo exhibited characteristics of both a mutagen and a DNA-disintegrating weapon of mass destruction.
If inhaled, the Black Goo unfolded its mutagenic effects, degenerating the victim into a twisted and demented version of itself in a matter of hours. When a human inhaled it, it boost strength, aggression and durability.
The Black Goo is terminal if the substance is ingested. The incubation time depends on the amount ingested: A small drop can prolong the disintegration over several hours. Several milliliters at once kills the victim within seconds. In case the incubation happens over a time span of hours, the victim experiences symptoms such as an accelerated heart rate, sexual arousal, degradation of the senses and motor skills and shortness of breath, followed by convulsions, massive internal bleeding and respiratory failure. The end result is always the disintegration of the organism's DNA, resulting in the total breakdown of the cellular structure, literally dissolving the organism.
While both administration methods pose a formidable weapon of mass destruction, the disintegrating effect on the DNA can also be used to inject the building blocks for organic life into a barren environment. The substance can only be safely contained for a long amount of time inside a dedicated Ampules device.
Black Goo can kick-start life on a barren planet by sacrificing one of their own, whose disintegrated DNA entered the world's water reserves and became the foundation for organic lifeforms.
A Mural depicting the Deacon, a proto-kiande amedha hangs in the chamber on LV-223 with a Humanoid head structure in the center, housing ampules containing the Black Goo, seemingly specifically designed to target human DNA. One theory suggests that the Black Goo in this room contains the code, when paired with Human DNA, to create creatures like the Deacon. Whereas the Facehugger does not make genetic exchanges with the DNA of his host (it instead uses the host DNA for the embryo), the Black Goo does change DNA. If So, then the Black Goo must be exposed to new materials in order to evolve the potential of the Black Goo and the kiande amedha weapon the Engineers engineered.
2,000 years ago, the Engineers (or at least a fraction of the race) decided to use the Black Goo to wipe out humanity. A ship stationed at LV-223 was loaded with thousands of Black Goo Ampules. The Black Goo was kept in a sealed atmosphere. The vessel, however, never took off as an accidental release of the chemical weapon exterminated the staff of the facility.
In 2093, a science team led by Elizabeth Shaw reached LV-223 aboard the science vessel Prometheus. The team discovered a Ampule Room for the Black Goo, but the scientists accidentally broke the atmosphere seal and released the Black Goo into the environment. The Back Goo immediately proceeded to mutate an indigenous species of worms into twisted mutations called the Hammerpedes.
The geologist Fifield came into contact with it when a fatal encounter with the Hammerpede melted his helmet, which caused him to fall into a puddle of Black Goo.
Dr. Holloway ingested the substance through a drink spiked by the android David8. Holloway transmitted the substance to Shaw during sexual intercourse and, in spite of Shaw's infertility, they conceived a squid-like embryo which would later be removed and grow to become a monstrous creature called the Trilobite.
Meanwhile, Fifield degenerated into a gross humanoid mutation that had considerable strength and durability. The next morning, the Fifield creature returned to the Prometheus, viciously attacked the personnel and was only stopped after killing several crew members.
Later that day, a reawakened survivor of the race managed to launch the transport vessel - as was their original plan. However, the ship was crippled when the crew of the Prometheus crashed the vessel into the departing Engineer ship.
In the aftermath of the incident, Weyland Industries was able to acquire information about the Black Goo. The amount of data was conclusive enough to assemble a dossier about the substance, including a threat assessment. Weyland Industries scientists gave the Black Goo the designation “Chemical_A0-3959X.91 – 15”.
Later, David8 had come into possession of a Dreadnought vessel loaded with Ampules. Upon arrival on Planet-4, David8 deployed almost the entire payload directly above a large Engineer city. The pathogen eradicated the entire population and a large part of the fauna. What was left gave rise to twisted mutations, such as the Neomorph. David then transferred a small amount of Ampules to his laboratory in the dead Engineer city for further study.